Lowe’s hires a Best Buy executive for a senior vice president position

Lowe’s Co. Inc. has hired Marise Kumar as its senior vice president of strategy and modeling. Reporting to customer experience design head Robert Gfeller, Kumar will help the retail chain improve shopping for consumers across all channels.

“We want to be trusted advisers for consumers at each step of their home improvement process, by helping deliver better experiences for them whenever and wherever they shop with Lowe’s,” Gfeller says. “We’re excited to have Marise’s deep expertise in understanding consumer expectations and translating those insights into experiences that make a difference to consumers and our business.”

Kumar comes from Best Buy Co., where since 2008 she had worked as the chain’s chief customer experience and marketing officer international. Before that, she was vice president, business strategy and core competencies/global customer loyalty for home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp.

Best Buy is No. 11 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. Lowe’s is No. 47.